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ROCHESTER STATION, REEDWATER, NORTHUMBERLAND 


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NOTICES 


BY THE 

REV. T. SURRIDGE, LL.D., T.C.D., 

OP 

ROMAN INSCRIPTIONS 

DISCOVERED AT 

HIGH ROCHESTER, RISINGHAM, AND RUDCHESTER, 


IN 

NORTHUMBERLAND. 


UNDER THE PATRONAGE OP 

HIS GRACE ALGERNON, DUKE AND EARL OF NORTHUMBERLAND, 
KNIGHT OF THE MOST NOBLE ORDER OF THE GARTER, &c., &c. 


PRINTED AT THE JOURNAL OFFICE, GREY STREET, BY JOHN HERNAMAN. 


1853. 








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[entered at stationers’ hall. 

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TO HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF NORTHUMBERLAND, 


&c., &c., &c. 


May it please your Grace,— 

The ancient monumental inscriptions of the Romans were authentic 
historical records, and served as landmarks and lighthouses to their history. 
He who attempts to explain them, therefore, should endeavour to ascertain 
the precise meaning, so far as can be done, which the ancient Romans them¬ 
selves attached to them. Without this precaution, Archaeological explorations 
and antiquarian research are expended in vain. Fanciful explanations, ad 
captandum , can only become an ignis fatuus , or mis-clirection, leading the be¬ 
nighted traveller far out of the right way. 

The lively interest which your Grace manifests in these inscriptions, 
induces me to attempt the rescue of the inscriptions found at High Rochester 
from misinterpretation , and to add to them some of those found at Risingham 
and Rudchester. 

Begging your Grace’s acceptance of my best thanks for the countenance 
which your Grace has condescended to give to my attempt at their explana¬ 
tion, in an unadorned and literal translation, (as faithfully and correctly as 
my abilities enable me to do,) and hoping they may shew the way to future 
research , 

I have the honour to be, with the utmost respect, 

4 

Your Grace’s very humble and faithful Servant, 

THOMAS SURRTDGE, 


Rectory House, Thorneyburn. 










































r 































* 


























































































INTRODUCTION. 


ROMAN REMAINS. 



HIGH ROCHESTER, RISING HAM, AND RUDCHESTER 

INSCRIPTIONS. 

Tacitus, in his rapid haste to the eulogy of his uncle or father-in-law 
and hero Agricola, passes over, with a single and not impartial glance, the 
second expedition of Caesar to Britain. He says, “ Julius Caesar, instead of 
“ conquering, merely shewed the way to the future conquest of Britain.” 
Thus transferring to the brows of Agricola the laurels which had been won 
by the renowned Caesar in his second invasion of this country. 

On this authority Rapin hesitates not to assert that for more than ninety 
. years after this second invasion of Britain the Britons were free. 

The Roman monumental inscriptions, for some fifteen centuries buried 
in the earth, are now exhumed to qualify, if not to disprove, these state¬ 
ments, and to effect the “ restoration unto Caesar of the things which are 
“ Caesars.” They bear irrefragible evidence that, in his second invasion of 
Britain, Caesar aimed at its conquest, not as an empty name , and neither did 
he retire, nor was he compelled to retire, from it without first securing 
the conquest he had made. 

It is true that subsequent events and the prudence of Augustus, which 
made him eschew distant wars and to defer his threatened completion of 
British subjugation, may have left the Britons comparatively at ease 



during his long reign ; but they were not free. Of this, its occupation, as 
appears from those inscriptions, gives the most authentic evidence,—in fact, 
evidence too impartial to be disregarded or discredited. We shall proceed to 
their explanation, and, first, the 

vide piates i and 2. High Rochester Altar and other inscriptions of that station 
claim our attention, not from their being first erected, but because they are 
nearest and first obtained our notice. 

vide Plate 4. The Rudchester inscriptions bear the marks of the earliest antiquity, 
as some of them were doubtless erected in the life time of Julius Caesar 
himself. 

vide Plate 3 . The Risingham Portal inscription was probably erected in the last 
year of the reign of Antoninus Pius, who died a.d. 161, when Marcus Aurelius 
and Verus were consuls. The name of Verus was designedly erased: the 
usual indignity to the memory of bad emperors. The top part of the stone, 
with the remainder of the inscription, was broken off and lost, but I think I 
have successfully restored the whole, as it was originally inscribed. 


ROMAN REM A. INS 

FOUND IN 

NORTHUMBERLAND. 


HIGH ROCHESTER INSCRIPTIONS, &c. 


TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEWCASTLE JOURNAL. 

/ 

Sir, —Having only within a few days heard of the diggings (not for 
gold, but for knowledge,) now cai’ried on by the munificence of His Grace 
the Duke of Northumberland, at Rochester, I on Monday rode across the 
moors to see them. After having experienced a heavy thunder storm, from 
the effects of which I was soon relieved by the kindness and hospitality of 
the Rev. Mr. Preston and his amiable consort, I went in company with him 
to the scene of explorations, which appear to me at present to be carried on 
in the burial ground of the Roman Garrison. Urns, with their contents (the 
ashes of burned dead), decomposed human bones and skulls, evince that it 
was used as a place of interment, both before and subsequent to the intro¬ 
duction of Christianity. Mr. Preston kindly supplied me with a copy of 
the inscription on the altar, and helped me in decypliering it. On my return 
home I examined it more carefully, and supposing that the result may be 
acceptable to your readers, whether I may have been anticipated in this 
respect or not, I send you my exposition of it, thinking that if others have 

B 







4 


given the same it will be corroborative of their interpretation, or if not. it 
may afford some little help in their elucidation. 

I am, Sir, your obedient servant, 

THOMAS SURRIDGE, Clerk, LL.B. 


Rectory, Thorneyburn, Sept. 8th, 1852. 


* Vide Letter 
25th Oct. 1852. 


►See Fig. 1. 
Plate 1. 


* G D N E T 


SIGNOR VM 
COHIVARDVM 
ETNEXPLORA 
TORBREMCOR 
EGNATLVCLLI 
ANVSLEGAVGQrQr 
CVRANTECASSIO 
SABINIANOTrB 


Inscription expanded. 

Gratia Domini Nostri et Signorum Cohortis 4tae Aram Diis Universis Manibus et 
Numinibus Exploratum Britannise, eximise Memoriae, Condidit Regnator Lucilianus legionis 
Augustalis (Pro quaestor vel praetor)—Curante Cassio Sabiniano Tribuno. 

Translation. 

Under the favour of our and our Standards’ Lord the Governor Lucilianus Quaestor (or 
Praetor) of the Augustan Legion (or Augustan Lieutenant) built this Altar to the Universal 
Manes of the 4th Legion and to the Gods of the Explorators of Britain of illustrious memory 
—Cassius Sabinianus the Tribune superintending. 


Alnwick Castle, September 18th, 1852. 
Dear Sir,— I have to acknowledge the receipt of yours, forwarding a 
Translation of the Inscription recently discovered at Rochester, which I 
handed to the Duke of Northumberland, and beg you to accept his Grace’s 
best thanks for the same. 

Truly and respectfully yours, 

HUGH TAYLOR. 


Rev. Dr. Surridge. 














THE ROMAN ALTAR AT ROCHESTER, 


TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEWCASTLE JOURNAL. 

Sir,— Your impression of last week contains a very erroneous reading 
and translation, by the Rev. Thomas Surridge, LL.D. of the inscription on 
an altar lately discovered at Rochester, in Northumberland, and I feel that 
to allow such a reading and translation to pass without observation, and 
without correction, would afford good ground for reflection on the Archaeo¬ 
logical Institute so lately assembled at Newcastle. If your correspondent 
had been present at the meeting of the Institute, he might have avoided the 
errors into which he has fallen by studying the readings of this inscription 
by Mr. Bruce and Mr. Clayton, which (as stated by the Hon. Mr. Liddell, 
who presided over the section,) having been made separately and distinctly, 
were found, on comparison, to be identical. The letters on the stone are— 

/ G D N E T 

SIGNORVM 

COHIVARDVM 

ETNEXPLORA 

TORBREMCOR 

EGNATLVCILI 

ANVSLEGAVGRR 

CVRANTECASSI 

SABINIANORB 

The reading of these letters by the two gentlemen above-named— 

Genio Domini nostri, et 
Signorum, 

Cohortis primse Vardulorum, 

Et numeri Exploratorum Bremenii 
Corignatus Lucilianus 
Legatus Augustolis Propraetor 
Curante Cassio Sabiniano Tribuno, 

Aram posait. 


6 


\ 


TIIE TRANSLATION. 

To the Genius of the Emperor, and of the 
Standards of the first Cohort of the Varduli 
And of the body of Pioneers of Bremenium, 

Corignatus Lucilianus the Imperial Legate, 

Propraetor, under the superintendence of 
* Cassius Sabinianus the Tribune, erected this altar. 

The value of this inscription consists in its confirmation of the pre-existing 
evidence of the facts, that Rochester of the present day was the Bremenium 
of the Romans, the first station on the first Iter of Antoninus, that it was 
one of the Castra Exploratorum, and that the first cohort of the Varduli 
Yet Edi the S qu“ a tion garrisoned it. * There is no doubt of the perfect accuracy of 

arises, was the Ro- . 
man empire estab- tile 1’ 
lished at the time this 

ifnotTwhyshoutdR Lucilianus the Legale seems somewhat singular: but it is 

1)6 erected to &n Em - ■■ ». . i . i . t i . 

pcrors genius who taken as it stands upon the stone. Your clerical correspondent 

never had existence, 

hoarder of Augustus ma y be, and no doubt is, a scholar, but the expounder of the 
uncle Julius csesar, inscriptions which the Romans left behind them m Britain 

whose name would 

heenomitted 1 ? have mus f b e a scholar, and something more; he must be conver¬ 
sant with the style and form of these inscriptions ; he must have some 
knowledge of the habits of that people, and the manner of their occupation 
of this country, in all which particulars Dr. Surridge appears to be deficient. 

I am, Sir, your obedient servant, 

A SOUTHERN MEMBER OF THE 

ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE. 

London, September 15. 


eading of the two local antiquaries ; the praenomen of 


Thorneyburn, 24th September, 1852. 

Mr. Editor, —The criticism of (as he pretends to be and signs 
himself) a southern Member of the Archaeological Society, wasted on my 
explanation of the inscription on the Roman Altar at Rochester, would be 

* Only think of the Tribunes superintending the Prcetor—the inferior directing the superior offices. 


» 




7 


wholly unworthy of notice did it not attempt to shelter the ignorance of the 
writer by the highly respectable names of Clayton and Bruce, gentlemen 
than whom none can be more deservedly esteemed nor more zealous in their 
desire to discover and promulgate truth, and who, I am convinced, would 
not only be the last persons in the world to smother inquiry after it, but the 
first to discourage the dissemination of any mistake which may have inad¬ 
vertently arisen in its pursuit—from the frequently intentional and enigma¬ 
tical difficulties of Heathen inscriptions on the Shrines and Altars of their 
imaginary Gods—aided by the further impediments thrown in ttie way by 
the prejudices of preconceived fancies and theories, which naturally warp 
and incline us to square our explanations by them. From these (though in 
the embryo critic’s opinion it may be considered as a great deject) I was 
happily free, which probably was the cause of my being able to decipher the 
true meaning of the Altar inscription. To criticise the translation of a 
gentleman admitted (though reluctantly) to be a scholar, requires scholarship 
in my critic, who however he may be qualified to act as a pioneer , to wield 
the mattock and the spade for Archaeological researches, should be cautious 
of wielding his pen, until he can show better credentials for the office he 
assumes, than rank nonsense attempted to be clothed in Dog-Latin. 

The most illiterate sentinel that ever paced the Roman Wall would 
scorn to accept it as the language of his country, and resent it as an insult 
to his Quaestor and Tribune, (holding offices of high rank, similar to those 
of our Chancellor of the Exchequer and Commander-in-Chief,) who, I rather 
think, w r ould not feel themselves flattered by seeing their despatches written 
in Cockney. If you will be kind enough to find room in your paper for 
this letter, and my full explanation of the Roman inscription herewith sent, 
you will do justice to your Roman Altar Correspondents, and greatly oblige, 

Your faithful and obedient servant, 

THOMAS SURRIDGE 


c 


8 


ROMAN ANTIQUITIES—ROCHESTER ALTAR. 

DR. SURRIDGE’S KEY. 


Write down the letters in the order in which they occur, (which was • 
probably the mode adopted by some unlearned stonemason, ignorant of the 
language of his great employers, the Roman Tribune and Quaestor, and 
totally disregarding their formation into words) ; point them off into the 
usual abbreviations, so well known to the Romans, and not unknown in our 
own language, for we write Ed. for Editor; Esq. for Esquire ; Rt. Hble. 
for Right Honourable ; Mr. for Mister ; D.D. for Doctor of Divinity ; LL.D. 
for Doctor of Laws, &c. &c. 

Viz.—G.D.N. et Signorum Coh : Iv-ar : D.V.M. et n. Explo- 
rator : Em: Co : Regnat : Lvcilianvs Leg. Ayc. Qr. Qr. Cvrante 
Cassig Sabiniano Tr. B. 

Abbreviations explained. 

G.D.N. Gratia Domine Nostri—C oh : IV. Cohortis quartae—A.R : 
Aram—D.V.M. Diis Universis Manibus—N. Numinibus—E xplorator : 
Exploratorum—BR: Rritanniae—E.M. Eximiae Memoriae—CO. : Condidit: 
—Regnat : Regnator—L eg. Avg : Legionis Augustalis (vel Legatus 
Augustalis)—Qr. Qr. Quaestor or Proquaestor—Tr. B. Tribuno—Vide 
Ains. Die. 

Let some learned critic compare the foregoing explanations of Dr. Sur- 
ridge with that of a Southern Member of the Arcliaceological Society , and 
he will soon be able to say which is the more correct translation, and which 
is more in accordance with a person’s exposition, who is “ conversant with 
“ the style and form of these inscriptions , which the Romans left behind 
“ them , to decipher which requires something more than sholarshipf though 
more liberally allowed than the Southern Member of the Archceological 
Society is pleased to admit Dr. Surridge to possess. Perhaps the following 
notice would serve on his next attempt at smothering inquiry respecting 
Roman altars in Britain :— 

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Avaunt rash Mortals— 

In our myst’ries uninitiated 
Our Altars touch not. 

By us alone inscriptions can be read 
(As those so ven’rable) 

Long ages buried with the Roman dead. 

Given under our hand.— Assmer . 
Southern Member of the Archaeological Society. 

O Bremenium ! O Roman Bremenium ! Where can I find you now ? 
How have we been led astray by the voluntary or compulsory visits of the 
Piets to Rochester, who, like ourselves, ignorantly must have mistaken 
BREM for Bremenium ; for as to Antoninus, he can afford us no help. 
He wrote his history of himself in Greek , and would have written Hodos 
and not Iter for his first day’s journey. 

v / 

“ Non tali axilio nec defensoribus islis” 

Translated—Save us, O save us, from our stupid friend. 

Archaeological Societatis Amicus etsi non socius. 


THE ROMAN ALTAR FOUND AT ROCHESTER. 


TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEWCASTLE JOURNAL. 

London, October 7th, 1852. 

Sir,— My attention has been drawn to a further effusion of the Rev. 
Thomas Surridge, LL.D. of Thorneyburn, who would do well to bear in 
mind that it is not less becoming in a Doctor of Laws, than it is in a Doctor 
of Divinity, to keep his temper—which, by the way, those who persist in 
error seldom do. I must submit to the reproach, which, in the eyes of the 
reverend doctor, attaches to my southern domicile; I do not know where 



10 


Thorneyburn is, but, wherever it may happen to be, it can scarcely be more 
conveniently placed, for reference to the first authorities on any subject, than 
is London. The judgment of one of those authorities on the inscription 
under discussion has been pronounced in these terms :— 

“ The reading of the inscription by the two gentlemen in the north is quite 
“ correct—the only doubt is that suggested by themselves, and is eon- 
u fined to the proenomen of Lucilianus the Legate (an unimportant 
“ feature in the inscription). The letters EGNAT, with which the fifth 
“ line begins, may, as suggested, be read e Egnatius,’ a name which 
“ occurs more than once in Greuter, and the letters COR. with which the 
“ fourth line ends, may be a contraction of another proenomen, or of an 
“ epithet applied to the c numerus exploration’ of Bremenium. This 
“ must remain a matter of uncertainty ; but there is no uncertainty as 
“ to any other part of the inscription, which runs thus— 

“ Genio Domini nostri, et Signorem, 

“ Cohortis primae Vardulorum, 

“ Et Numeni Exploratorum Bremenii, 

“ Cor. Egnatius Lucilianus^ Legatus 
u Augustalis Propraetor, curante Cassio 
ff Sabiniano Tribuno, Aram posidt” 


From what has passed, it will be obvious that I do not expect to find 
in Doctor Surridge the fruits of extensive reading and research ; but, the 
learned doctor might surely have read the history of his own county. If he 
had done so, he would have found much to confirm the version of this in¬ 
scription given to us by the Newcastle Antiquaries—he would have found 
the first cohort of the Varduli and the “ Numerus Exploratorum” of Bre¬ 
menium joined as in this inscription—he would have found the same Cohort 
dedicating at Bremenium an altar to their Standards and their Genius, and 
he might have escaped from the predicament of promulgating stark nonsense. 
notme^Tge^sriiei 1 - * My object in addressing you has not been, as Dr. Sur- 
SS 'To q establish a ridge suggests, to stifle inquiry, but to avert the catastrophe 

severe law against o oo ± •/ 

ourselves—Editor. w hich usually attends the process of the blind leading the blind. 
The conviction is forced upon me that no one in his sober senses could pos¬ 
sibly have propounded and persisted in so absurd and preposterous a reading 


11 


of a plain inscription, as this of Dr. Surridge ; and under that conviction, I 
must be permitted to take my leave of him, as of an individual not altogether 
accountable. 

I have the honour to be. Sir, 

Your most obedient servant, 

A SOUTHERN MEMBER OF THE 

ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE. 


THE ROMAN ALTAR FOUND AT ROCHESTER. 


TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEWCASTLE JOURNAL 

Sir, —As anonymous and unsupported assertion is not proof, and as 
reiterated error cannot bring with it either correctness or conviction, the 
Southern Member of the Archaelogical Society may now be left to his 
flounderings. The veriest school-boy, with the key given in your paper of 
the 2nd, in hand, and the quarto edtion of Ainsworth’s Dictionary beside 
him, may judge of the correctness of the translation there given, and instead 
of falsifying facts to accommodate historical errors, will correct errors by 
facts. This I conceive to be the legitimate and most profitable use to 
which Roman Remains can possibly be applied, and, in the present dis¬ 
coveries, we may find that it is of far more value than the pursuit of a 
phantom, or whether a Roman Camp be called Rochester or Bremenium. 
“ A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet.” 

I am, Sir, your obedient servant, 

THOMAS SURRIDGE, Clerk, LL.D. 

Rectory, Thorneyburn, Oct. 14, 1852. 

D 





12 


TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEWCASTLE JOURNAL. 


Sir, —A good deal of difference in opinion has arisen respecting the 
deciphering of the inscription on the Roman Altar lately found at Rochester, 
in this county. A Southern Member of the Archaeological Institute adopts 
and defends the reading of the two northern antiquaries, and we think he is 
perfectly warranted in doing so ; it must be obvious to every one conversant 
in those matters that their reading is the correct one. What is more pro¬ 
bable than that the Varduli should be mentioned in an inscription on a 
Roman Altar at Rochester, the Bremenium of the Romans, since we learn 
authority 6 ? what from undoubted * authority that the first cohort of the Varduli, 
a people from the foot of the Pyrenees in Spain, were established at Bremen¬ 
ium? We may here notice that it was a policy pursued with great steadiness 
by the Roman Conquerors to transplant colonies from one nation to another, 
under the name of auxiliaries, thus making a gradual amalgamation of the 
different peoples who composed the empire, and establishing effective defences 
without exhausting the central force. Even with our present impefect 
information we can trace the parcelling out of Britain among colonies of 
almost every people who had been subdued by the Roman Arms. The 
Notitia Imperii, composed under Theodosius the younger, gives us a long 
list of the auxiliary nations who held towns and stations throughout Britain. 
In this list we find that Segedunum (Wallsend) was occupied by Lingones 
from Belgium ; Pons Mlii (Newcastle) by a people called Cornovii; Habi- 
after^prove^that^Ri- tancum *(Risingham) and the next station to Bremenium, by 
balfly Bremenium. the Vangiones, a people from the banks of the Rhine; and 
Bremenium (Rochester), as we noticed before, by the first cohort of the 
Varduli, a people from the foot of the Pyrenees in Spain. Now, in the 
third line of the inscription we meet with the letters, COHIVADVM, 
which by the two northern antiquaries is translated ec of the first cohort of 
the Varduli,” and when we find that this cohort was established at Breme- 
nium 9 where shall we find a more reasonable rendering of the line ? But Dr. 
Surridge would make the line stand thus—“ Cohortis ; Quartae, Aram Diis 
Universis, Manibus,” and in the fifth line he makes E M to stand for exemke 


13 


memorise ; again he makes the letters R R to represent Quaestor or Pro- 
qusestor ; now is it not more natural to translate these letters propraetor, 
thus—PR. PR.; they are written in this manner on an altar found at 
Elsdon, in which parish Rochester is situated, and translated by Horsley— 
no mean authority—propraetor. The learned Doctor pretends to ridicule 
B R E M standing for Bremenium, but for our part we think nothing is 
more likely than that the name of the city should be found as part of the 
inscription at whatever station the altar was erected. When every thing is 
considered, we confess that we can see no reasonable grounds for the Rev. 
Doctor’s exposition, while the other seems plain and in keeping with the 
inscribed characters. The only difference we would feel inclined to make in 
the latter reading is, that for Numeri we would subscribe Numinibus. The 
translation would then stand thus, “ Coregnatus Lucilianus the Imperial 
Legate Propraetor under the superintendence of Cassius Sabinianus the 
Tribune erected this altar to the genius of the Emperor, and of the Stan¬ 
dards of the 1st Cohort of the VarduH and to the Divinities of the Explora- 
tors of Bremenium.” 

Dr. Surridge in a note says that, so far as he can learn, the Romans 
never erected altars to Genii of any kind. I shall only instance one or two 
cases of many to prove the contrary. On an altar found at Auchindary, in 
towa'swrittenihave * Scotland, is the following, “ Genio terrae Britanniae, &c.” to 
scriptions, and ac- the genius of the land ot Britain. Another recently discovered 

knowledge that I 

first impression 1 ; but at Chesters, “Genio Averni,” to the genius of Avernus; which 
full, as it is on the shows that even the presiding genius ot the Internal Regions 

altar given bv Mr. 

Ms U Ro’man S wai 8 i 2 of h a d worshippers in Roman Britain. Another at Caerleon 
to the genius of the 2nd Legion; and another to the genius of the 1st Wing 
of Spaniards, “ Genio Alae Hispanorum,” Thus, each Praetorium, or quar¬ 
ters, and each troop had its presiding genius. If the learned Dr. chooses to 
look into the “ Celt” the Roman and the Saxon, by Wright, he will find others 
than those I have quoted. 

I am, Mr. Editor, your obedient servant, 

D. G. SMITH. 

Ford, near Coldstream, Oct. 14th, 1852. 


14 


. * . \ " 

THE ROMAN ALTAR AT ROCHESTER. 


TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEWCASTLE JOURNAL. 

Sir,— Mr. Smith, in his letter of the 14th, does not appear to be aware 
that the First Cohort of the Varduli is mentioned on two altars found many 
years ago at Rochester (Bremenium), both of which are given in Hodgson’s 
valuable History of Northumberland, part 2, vol. 1, p. 140-141, and in the 
first of them occurs the abbreviation—P reversed and joined to R, P reversed 
and joined to R, as on that lately discovered at the same place, (not R R as 
given in Mr. Smith’s letter), which, I believe, is correctly interpreted Pro- 
praetores. 

I remain, Sir, yours faithfully, 

W. C. TREVELYAN. 

Wallington, October 14th, 1852. 

Note. —(The abbreviations referred to by Sir Walter Trevelyan were correctly given by 
Mr. Smith, but there are no letters in modern use calculated to denote them. An R with a 
P reversed on the left side of it is the character used by the Romans on the altar.) 

Note.— The abbreviations alluded to stand for either Quaestor or Praetor. — Editor. 


TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEWCASTLE JOURNAL. 

Sir, — I herewith inclose an inscription found on a monument exhumed 
at Rochester in the last week of September, which I traced with my own 
hand on Saturday last, and can, therefore, vouch for its correctness. The 
stone is much worn and obliterated, and requires the more care in obtaining 
a correct copy. 

I will deposit the translation I shall make of it where it can be compared 
with the translation of others, as they appear, and that which is considered 
most correct adopted. Until then, it will be just as well to avoid discussion. 




15 


Having availed myself of this my second visit to Rochester, personally 
to examine the altar inscription, I found that the first letter was decidedly a 
G and not a C, as I supposed it to be from the copy given me by my friend ; 
but this does not in any way relieve my metropolitan friend out of his 
difficulties, for G in this case does not mean Genio but Gratia , preserving 
intact the explanation I have given, as it matters not whether it was by the 
grace of the Romans’ Lord of themselves and Standards, or with Caesar, as 
that Lord, the altar was erected. 

Rut to put an end to further discussion I beg to observe that “ the 
“ dedication of the altars to the manes of the deceased, in their burial grounds 
<e was general among the ancients, and most particularly observed by the 
6C Romans, whence their epitaphs were always superscribed D.M. Dis Mani- 
“ bus—to remind the sacrilegious and profane not to molest the monuments of 
“ the dead, which were guarded with such sanctity.” Vid. Propert. 1 El. 
19 Virg. 4 Geo. v. 460, iEneid, 3d. &c. Hor. 1 R. Sat. 8, v. 28. 

The altar at Rochester, as I stated in my first letter, (vide Journal of 
11th September,) was found in the burial ground of the Roman Camp, and 
its dedication to the manes sufficiently evident even, though not mentioned, 
as it is, in the body of the inscription, and the letter N, coupled by the con¬ 
junction et to D U M, shows that N to stand for numinibus exploratorum 
(falsely translated pioneers of Bremenium % his imaginary Roman Town), 
are not numeri as my southern friend insists. 

Having thus, I think, satisfactorily proved the correctness of my trans¬ 
lation to those who can reason on the subject, and that even though a resident 
of obscure and unknown Thorneyburn, without the advantage of such ample 
metropolitan references as my more fortunate critic boasts of, I can see, as 
far into an old Roman Stone and Inscription, without initiation into their 
mysteries, as the Southern Member of the Archaeological Society. 

I am, Sir, your obliged humble servant, 

THOMAS SURRIDGE. 

Thorneyburn Rectory, 25th October, 1852. 


E 


16 


ROMAN ALTAR AT ROCHESTER. 


TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEWCASTLE JOURNAL. 

Thorneyburn Rectory, December 11th, 1852. 

Dear Sir,— I herewith send the explanation of the inscription, which 
I forwarded you on the 25th of October last, and of which I then forwarded 
a copy, with the translation, to a friend, with the exception of the letter V 
instead of T in the first line, which letter I could not then account for, but 
have since discovered it to be an interpolation, having obtained, by a rubbing, 
the remains of the letter V, for which T was substituted, V being, historically, 
the correct reading. 

I am, dear Sir, yours truly, 

THOMAS SURRIDGE. 


Inscription on the Monument found at Rochester in the last week of 
September, copied from the stone, by Dr. Surridge, October 22nd, viz.:— 

See Plate s. IMP - CAES V A E L I o 

Fig. 6. 

HD ANTONINO — AVG PIO PP 
— S V B —Q L o L V R B I C O — 

LEG A V G — PRO PR^ 

C O II I LING 

E Q F 

Inscription expanded* 

Expansion. 

Imperatore Csesare Vero iElio hoc dedicavit Antonino Augusto Pio P. P. (sapienti Viro 
bono) Quinctio Lollio Urbico Legato Augustali Propraetore, Cohors Ima. Lingonum—ergique 
fecit. 

Translation . 

During the reign of Verus iElius Caesar, the first cohort of the Lingones dedicated this 
to Antoninus Pius, P. P. (a wise and good man,) and caused it to be erected, Quinctus Lollius, 
Arbicus (or City Prefect,) being Augustan Lieutenant and Propraetor. 








17 


Note. —Commodus was adopted by Adrian, a.d. 136, when his name was changed to Verus 
./Elius. He died on the 1st of January, 138. Antoninus was adopted in his stead, on the 25th of 
February, a.d. 138, and Adrian died on the 10th of July following, when Antoninus became sole 
Emperor. My retired residence, debarring me access to other ancient authorities, my research was 
of course limited to the only books which, in this retired situation, I could with facility obtain, and 
consisted merely of Tacitus and a borrowed first volume of Suetonius, in neither of which is there 

4 

any account of the Antonines. I was, therefore, at a loss to account for the Agnomen Urbicus 
attached to the name of Quinctius Lollius, in the third line of the inscription published in the 
Newcastle Journal of the 18th of December last. Ainsworth does not give it, and Lemprier gives only 
one of the name, (Urbicus) an actor (in the reign of Domitian) who was probably so called from his 
city popularity. The Emperor Augustus, in order to relieve himself of some portion of the arduous 
duties which he at first exercised in his own person, by the advice of Macaenas, his prime minister, 
appointed a City Officer, tantamount to our Lord Mayor of London, who was called Prcefectus 
Urbicus , to distinguish him from other praefects; and a passage in Echard’s Ecclesiastical History 
inclines me to believe that Quinctius Lollius may have held that office, and, during his prefecture, 
have been sent into Britain, as Augustan Lieutenant and Propraetor, in which case he would have 
retained his official name of Urbicus, as our Lord Mayor of London would do, during the continuance 
of his office, wherever he went. 


HIGH ROCHESTER PROVED NOT TO BE BREMENIUM. 


TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEWCASTLE JOURNAL. 

Thorneyburn Rectory, January 5th, 1853. 

Dear Sir, — I have to apologize to Sir Walter Trevelyan and Mr. 
Smith for permitting their letters of October last to remain so long unac¬ 
knowledged. I considered both to be good letters ; but until now I had no 
opportunity of consulting the authorities on which they relied for their side 
of the argument—Mr. Bruce’s Roman Wall supplies the deficiency, and I 
lose no time to avail myself of it in order to set those gentlemen right on the 
subject, and to convince them that the Roman Bremenium has not yet been 
discovered at High Rochester, nor do I apprehend it is likely to be found 

there. 

High Rochester is not Bremenium.—Proved. 

The author of the Roman Wall, in page 305, quotes from the itinerary, 
erroneously attributed to Antoninus Pius, stating— 







18 


“ The First Iter is entitled e A Route from the Limit, that is, from the 
Roman Wall, to Praetorcjm, 156 miles. 5 It begins thus— 

First Proof 

6 From BREMINIVM to CORSTOPITVM, XX miles. 5 55 (Roman of 
course,— Ed.) 

High Rochester is now distant from Morpeth (Camden's Costopitum) 
27 English Miles, or nearly XXX miles (Roman), each English mile being 
equal to 1*09202 (Roman miles). 

Now, either Bremenium is like the house of the lady of Loretto , pos¬ 
sessed of the miraculous power of locomotion , or, Bremenium cannot have 
been discovered at High Rochester.—Q.E.D. 

Again, M The Second Iter begins at the Roman Wall. * * * The 

first portion of it bears upon our present investigation. 55 

“ From BLATVM BVLGIVM to CASTRA EXPLORATORVM, 
XII miles, 55 that is—From Bulness, (probably now called Bowness,) in Cum¬ 
berland (Blatum Bulgium meaning in plain English a Babbling Bubbling 
Sea or Estuary ,) the distance to High Rochester is upwards of fifty English 
miles , consequently, the Castra Exploratorum cannot be High Rochester, but 
may, with more probability be found at Carlisle or in its neighbourhood. 

Now, let us proceed to the Rochester inscriptions brought forward in 
support of the Archaeological Society’s statement, and, should these too 9 as I 
think they will, prove adverse to their opinion, that opinion should no longer 
be opposed to truth for the purpose of maintaining the existence, or non¬ 
existence, of an empty name. Roman inscriptions were evidently set up for 
adfinlm 6 Suetonus some better purpose than this. * Their own historians used 
them as the landmarks or lighthouses of historical truth , and may we not 
apply them still to the same purpose. Correctly translated, they may throw 
some light upon that part of our history in connexion with the Romans, 

which has been so long lost. 

Roman Wall, page 382. 

Inscription. 

GENIO ET SIGNIS 
COH I FARDVL 
C R E Q. M 

TLICINIVS VALERI 
A N V S TRIE 


See Plate 1. 
Fig. 2. 


19 


Expanded by Dr. Surridge. 

GENIO ET SIGNIS COH[ORTIS] PRIM^ F[AVENTIBVS] AR[AM] 
D[IS] V[NIVERSIS] L[OCI] C[ONDIDIT] R[OMANVS] EQ[VES] 
MILLE [HOMINVM] T[ITVS] LICINIVS TRI[BVNVS]. 

Translated. 

Titus Licinius Valerianus, (a Roman Knight) Tribune of one thousand men, built this 
Altar to the Genius and all the Gods of the Place, who were favourable to the Standards of 
the First Cohort. 

Expanded by Mr. Bruce. 

GENIO ET SIGNIS COH[ORTIS] I F[ID^E] [V*] ARDVL [ORVM] 
C[IVIVM] R[OMANORVM] +EQ[VITATiE] T[ITVS] LICINIVS VALERI. 

ANVS TRIBIVNVS-]. 

Translated by Mr. Bruce , 

To the Genius and Standards of the First Cohort, the faithful of the Varduli Roman 
Citizens, Cavalry,t a thousand strong.;]; Titus Licinius Valerianus Tribune erected this. 

* V is not in the original, and can legitimately have no place here. The Varduli, therefore are 
neither mentioned nor intended. 

f In what language does E piitataB stand for Cavalry ? Certainly not in Latin—in which it is merely 
a participle. 

X A Cohort’s proportion of Cavalry was only about thirty men before they were augmented by 
auxiliaries, being the tenth part of three hundred, the number originally attached to a legion. How, 
then, could the horse of this Cohort be 1000 1 The first Cohort in later times had sometimes 120. 

Each Cohort was commanded by a Tribune (or Colonel), to which office 
a knight became eligible after five years’ services, and a plebeian after ten. 

Remark.— There is much difficulty in the above inscription, the letters C. R. EQ. 
being capable of being variously expanded, but the interpretation which I have above given 
I consider the most correct. None gives the name of the Varduli or any bordering on it.—T.S. 

The inscriptions inserted in the appendix of the Roman Wall, pages 
457 and 460, have already appeared in the Newcastle Journal. The fol¬ 
lowing is taken from a broken and designedly mutilated stone, of which 
Mr. Bruce gives a copy, with his explanation, page 458 appendix. 

Broken Inscription taken by Dr. S. 

Vide Fig. 4 and 5. IMP CAE 

Plato 1. 

PP 

C H IF V A RD 
BALLIS A SOLO RE T 
S V B C • C L • A P Lo L I N I LEG AVG 
INSTANTE AVR QVINTO T R 


F 


20 


On the authority of Suetonius, whose words we here quote, we shah 
attempt to supply the deficient part of the inscription. 

Suetonius’ account of the death of Domitian, as given in his Caesars, 
Chap. 23rd viz.:— 

“ Contra Senatus adeo laetatus est, ut, repleta certatim curia, non temperaret quin 
“ mortuum contumeliosissimo atque acerbissimo acclamationum genere laceraret; Scalas etiam 
“inferri, clypeosque et imagines ejus corum detrahi et ibidem solo affligi juberet: novissume. 
“ eradendos ubique titulos, abolendamque omnem memoriam decernaret.” 

Hence Domitian’s inscriptions were destroyed. 

Above Inscription restored. 

IMP CAE [DOMITIANO 

A V G V S T O] P P [G E R M A N I C O 
PONTIFMAX] CH IF VA RD 
[PRAE] BALLIS ASOLORE T 

S VBCL APLoLINIoLEG AVG 
INSTANTEAVRQVINTOTRB 

Translation of the restored Inscription. 

In the Emperorship of Domitian Augustus Caesar Germanicus Sovereign Pontiff—the 
Praetor’s Bailiff—an appointed veteran chosen at Rome—faithful to his orders rebuilt this 
Camp from the foundation under Appius Claudius Lolinius, the Imperial Lieutenant, at the 
urgent request of Aurelius Quintus the Tribune. 

In these Inscriptions neither Bremenium nor the Varduli are 

mentioned. 

Note. —Having now satisfactorily proved that the discovery of Bremenium at High Rochester 
is not supported either by the Itinerary or the exhumed Inscriptions at the Roman Camp, I hope the 
members of the Archaeological Society will, in future, be more guarded in publishing unfounded 
discoveries, and less ready to offer insult to individuals, however obscure their residence, or humbP 
their condition, who try to explain inscriptions. 




21 


Extract from Butler's Commentary. 

“A BREMENIO. 

* “ Here, then, we begin at Bremeniurn, xiv. miles beyond the wall. The 

name of the station has met with much interpolation, whether through 
“ the transcriber’s fault, or composers at the presse, or both, it much matters 
fi< not. Aldus hath Remaenio, but that may be soon mended. Simler prints 
“ it Bramenio, which Ortelius seems to accept of, and our William Harrison 
“ followes him. Bremenio, as it appears, was constantly written in all those 
te old books, and they not a few, which Surita used ; otherwise he would 
44 have noted it. So, likewise, all Ptolemies’ copies have it which I have 
44 seen (Bremenion) except that which otherwise is accounted the very best, 
44 published by Petrus Bertius out of the Palatin M.S. where you have 
44 Aremenion , Aremenium, doubtlessely by the printer’s mistake. In him it is a 
44 City of the Otadenoi, Otadeni. And certainly the true name is Bremeniurn, 
takeYea^to 1 diiiS 66 which the inscription of an old altar makes* unquestionable, 
author . 1 e earne “ taken up at Rochester, (i.e. castrum in Rupe ,) in Northum- 
say rcoi-named from 44 berland, standing upon the brow of a steep rising hill whence 

Castrum in Rupe,but o x o 

from Romanis Cas- «< najne^^-j- no t f ar from the spring or head of the Rhead, 
44 where it was found buried among the rubbish of an ancient Castrum, or 
44 Camp.” 

I will here give Butler’s inscription and translation, with my own 
translation afterwards, which widely differs from Butler’s interpretation of 
the inscription. 

Roman Inscription found at High Rochester, as published by Butler, a.d. 1658. 

D. R. S 

DUPL. N. EXPLOR. 

BREMEN. ARAM 
INSTITUERUNT 
N. EJUSC. CAE P 
CHARITINO TRIB 
V. S. L M 





22 


“ It meanes thus much :—The companies of scouts receiving double pay* 
“ or rather souldiers of the band or company receiving double pay, dedicated 
“ an altar at Bremenium to his Majesty,” (you must conceive some Roman 
* Before an Em- “ Emperor,)* “ when they made good their vow willingly as 

peror existed.—How r J » ° ^ 

al>flurd! “ by him deserved, Caspio Charitimus (for so it must be read) 

“ was their Tribune or cheif commander. 

“It is a piece of antiquity highly to he valued , almost near veneration, 
“ which, having still preserved the name and memory of the decayed station, may 
“ now be instead a tomb-stone to it, fallen into its own ashes, as well it was 
“ formerly erected to the Emperor’s honour, and for his safety. And if 
“ Cicero could make such boast for finding out the grave of the mathematician 
“ Archimedes, humilis homunculi , as he saith, a very mean man, not full two 
“ hundred years after his burial, yet quite unknown to his countrymen the 
“ Syracusians, how much more deservedly might our Camden have taken 
“ upon him, who, after ^thirteen hundred years at least, discovered the name 
“ and mines of the most valiant and resolute garrison of Britain, the bulwarke 
“ sometimes and the defence of the natives as well as the provincialls, 
“ wherefore to illustrate a little in behalf of the youth of this island, studious 
“ of glorious things long before their own times, I should count no losse of 
6C time or pains.” 

Expanded by Dr. S. 

DO MINIS ROMANIS SUIS 
D UPLARE S NBPER EXPLORATORES, 
BRITANNIAM E MEN SI, ARAM INSTITUERUNT 
NIJMINI EJUS C A I O CiESARI PONENDAM 
OASTRIS HIS .—A RITINO T R X R U N Q . 

V O T U M SOLVENT LIBENTISSIME 

M E R I T O. 


And translated. 

The Romans being their Lords or Masters, the late Duplar (or double pay) Engineers 
having completed their Survey of Britain, determined to erect an Altar in this Camp to its 
presiding Deity, Caius Ceesar—Aratinus being Tribune, they most willingly pay their vow 
to him deserviug it, (i.e. to Caesar.) 

• Note. —The above is a most invaluable inscription, as showing not only the completion, more 
than half a century before the birth of Christ, of the first military survey ever made of Britain, but 
also as confirmatory of its military occupation in the life-time of Caius Julius Ccesar, (as I have 
before repeatedly remarked,) yet it has been again buried for two centuries more by misinterpretation , 


23 


Bee Fig. 1. 
Plate 3. 


Sliding Stone 



/ 


Figure of the Cistern or Well at High Rochester, 9 feet long by 7 feet 
5 inches wide, and in depth, when it would be full of water, from four to 
live feet; near to this, the stone with the three naked figures was found. 
It was shut in by a flag on iron rollers on the lowest step. This flag was 
rolled into a groove in the side wall in order to give admission to the cistern 
or bath. 


G 














24 


RISINGHAM. 


It has been before proved in my letter of the 5th of January last, that High Rochester, in 
the Parish of Elsdon, could not have been the Roman Bremenium mentioned in the itinerary of 
Antoninus, and it will now be shown why Risingham is more probably its locality. According to 
the authority of Camden, Morpeth was the Roman Corstopitum , and according to the itinerary, the 
distance from Bremenium to Corstopitum Was twenty Roman miles, equal to a little more than eighteen 
English miles, or the present distance of Risingham from Morpeth exactly. Besides, the portal inscrip¬ 
tion found at Risingham shows it to ha* e been a station of some importance, and its sheltered situation 
would induce the supposition that it was, in all likePhood, selected for the head quarters of the 
Roman Army, and the residence of the Court. 

Southern Portal Stone op Risingham, Northumberland, discovered 

October, 1844. 

PIates * IMP. C IE S 

TITO AN T ON IN 0 PIO 
PONTIFICE MAXIMO PP 
M A R C 0 M A N NI AIC O MAXI 
CoS m TF MAURELIANToNINo Ro 
CoS II AUGGS VERoCoMMoDoL UoCEIoNIo 
PoRTAM CUMMURSVETUSTATEDI 
LAPSIS IUSS VALENSENEC INSUo 
CoS CURANTE QEL ATINI ADVENTo PRO 
AUGGNNOS M VANCoNo PFs 
CUM A E M SALVIAN TRB 
SUo ASoLo REST 

Translation. 

In the Reign of the Emperor Titus Antoninus Pius Caesar , Marcomanniaicus Maximus,— 
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus the Son of Titus being for the third time, and Lucius Ceionius 
Commodus Verus the second time. Consuls of Rome and Roman Emperors (Augustis) by the 
commands of Valens Seneca in his Consulate, and under the care of Q.E.L. Atinius Adventus 
Vanconoustlie Prefect, together with Emilius Salvianus the Tribune, acting for our Emperors, 
rebuilt from their foundation this Gate with the Walls fallen into ruins from * Antiquity. 

The parts which are lost and erased are marked in Italics. 

* It would require two centuries at least to cause a Roman Wall to fall into ruins from antiquity ; 
hence, we may conclude this station was built in the time of Julius Caesar, Marcus Aurelius and Verus 
Commodus being Consuls in a.d. about 161. 
















































M . - ' . 








































PORTAL STONE OF THE SOUTHERN ENTRANCE OF R1SINCHAM STATION NORTHUMBERLAND DISCOVERED OCT? 1844. 


PLATE III 



















































































































































































































FOUR ALTERS DISCOVERED AT RUDCHESTER, NORTHUMBERLAND. AUGUST 1844 


PLATE //// 



fj’ru w>L 7jy Joh tl fjrJl jrar/ihcr/s Zinc?AfcwctijS(fp. 


























































































» 







































































































25 


RUTCHESTER ALTARS, 

DICOVERED IN 1814. 


Plate 4. 
Pig. 1. 



DEOINVICTO 
MYTRAjEPAEL 
TMVLLVSPRiE 
V : S . L L M 

Expanded. 

1st. 

DEO INVCTO MYTR M PERSICO iELIO TMVLLVS PR^TOR VOTVM 
SOLVIT LIBENTSSIME MERITO. 

2ndly. 

DEO INCOLARVM VICTO, &c. 

Translation. 

Tmullus, the Praetor, in discharge of his vow, most willingly erectej this Altar to Mytras, 
the Persian God Apollo, who deserved it, being invincible, or the God of the inhabitants 
being vanquished by him. 

Note.— The letters J C M B at the top mean Julius Caesar of illustrious memory, and shew 
that his death had not long preceded its erection. The Commonwealth being restored, the title of 
Emperor on their monuments would have been improper. 


Plate 4. 
Fig 2. 


DEO 

L.SENTIVS 
C A S T V S 
L E G . V I . D . P. 


Translation . 

Lucius Sentius Castus, of the Sixth Legion, erected this Altar to God. 

N.B.—It is highly probable that this Altar was erected by Greeks from Attica, as it was dedicated 
simply to God, or, “ the unknown God.” 

Acts xvii. 22, 23.—“Then Paul stood in the midst of Mar’s Hill and said—“ Ye Men of Athens, 
“ I perceive that in all things you are too superstitious.—For as I passed by and beheld your devotions, 
<e I found an Altar with this inscription, to the UNKNOWN GOD. Whom, therefore, ye ignorantly 
« worship, him I declare unto you.” 





26 


Fig. 3. 

The inscription is very imperfect, and was dedicated to the Rising Sun, but is valuable for 
the two inverted letters at the top, which are the initials of Julius Caesar, and show that the 
inscription was erected during his life-time and before he became Emperor. 


DEOSOLINVIC 
TBGLDECMVS 
CORNELANTO 
NEVS PRAEF 
TEMPLRESTIT 

Expanded. 

DEO SOLI NVMINI VICTOR BELLO GALLICO DECIMVM VOTVM 
SOLVENS CORNELIVS ANTONEVS PRjEFECTVS TEMPMM RESTITVIT, 

Translation. 

Cornelius Antoneus, the Praefect; having been ten times victorious in the ^Gallic War, 
in discharge of his Vow restored (or rebuilt) the Temple of the invincible APOLLO (the 
SUN GOD.) 

Note. —The absence of IMP at the top of the Inscription leads to the conclusion that the 
Altar was erected before Caesar became Emperor, and, consequently, 48 years B.C. or rather before 
Caesar’s assassination on the 15th March, B.C. 44 years. 

All these Rudchester altars are of eastern origin, and were probably erected 
by the sun worshippers, who (levied by Pompey in the east) had, after the 
battle of Pharsalia followed the victorious standards of Caesar, and were 
probably sent by him into Britain to secure his recent conquest of that 
country. Indeed this is fully corroborated by the inscriptions, and my 
assertion in my letter to the Editor of the Newcastle Journal of the 14th 
of October, which stated that I considered the ihost legitimate and profitable 
use of Roman inscriptions was their application to the correction of historical 
errors (or supplying data for authentic history) is proved to have been 
supported by the result. 

The High Rochester, Risingham, and Rudchester Altar Inscriptions 
verify this opinion. We can no longer with Tacitus, although echoed by 
Rapin, deprive Julius Caesar of the glory of the conquest of Britain. 
Military occupation gives evidence of conquest, and these Roman remains 


Plate 4. 
Fig. 4. 




27 


prove military occupation even in the life-time of the first Caesar. It is now 
evident that he did more than (the historian of Agricola admits) “ shew the 
way to the future conquest of Britain,” and Rapin’s assertion that “ for 
upwards of ninety years subsequent to Caesar’s 2nd invasion the Britons were 
free,” falls to the ground. 

But the correction of profane history is not all that may be obtained 
from these Roman remains. They may assist us, too, in church history, 
and account for the origin of some practices, still observed, though not 
authorized, in our reformed Church of England practices, which, though 
intrinsically of little moment, become important when familiarity and habit 
make them instruments for the reintroduction of others more exceptionable, 
and which now become the objects of mediaeval restorations. Mediaeval 
restorations are redolent of mediaeval errors, and mediaeval errors of ancient 
Roman idolatrv. We must avoid the one, if we would eschew the other. 

The Spartans, in order to guard their children against drunkenness, 
exposed to them slaves whom they had previously deprived of reason by 
intoxication , we may derive a Spartan lesson from Archaeological explorations. 
The exposure of Pagan idolatry may deter us from its imitation in our own 
worship of the God of Truth ; or its spurious adoption under the titles of 
Mariolatry and Saint Worship, to which the Puseyite section which has 
sprung up in our beloved reformed church, wishes and is strenuously en¬ 
deavouring to lead the way. The worship of the Druid was displaced by 
the sword of Caesar and in its stead the early idolatry of the Roman con¬ 
querors, was established in Northumberland fifty-five years before the 
Christian era. It gave place to Mariolatry and Saint Worship, established 
in the year of Christ 741 by a synod of Bishops at Alnwick. What 
encouragement to synodical action and its restoration ! 

This brings me to make some remarks on an unauthorized custom which 
some adopt in Church of England worship, I mean the custom of especially 
turning to the east. It decidedly has had its origin in solar worship, which 
anciently was universal throughout the countries of the east ; and turning 
to the east is a remnant of that worship, still observed in the Mahomedan 
and Romish churches without any assignable reason. 

H 


28 


The Mufti watches on the highest pinnacle of the Mosque for the first 
ray of the morning sun, to exclaim aloud “ Ali is great, and Mahomed is his 
Prophet;” and the Rev. S. Smith wittily describes the religion of a certain 
Romanising section as consisting in the restoration of mediaeval bowings to 
the east, and curtseyings to the west, genuflexion, circumflexion, &c. 

The practice of turning, especially to the east, deriving its origin from 
sun worshippers, is not authorized in scripture, and it is no where commanded. 
It is true that the worshippers of the true God were at all times to “ look to 
Jesus” and the whole of the Jewish ceremonies and types had this for their 
object. As the Angel of the Covenant he preceded or went behind the 
Israelites as they required his guidance or protection. And after the 
dedication of the Temple, which was typical of Christ, they were instructed 
by Solomon’s dedication to look to the Holy Temple, or rather to the in¬ 
dwelling Saviour. Jerusalem lay due west of Babylon, and yet to it and 
not to the east their worship was always directed, as we find to be most 
remarkably instanced by the Prophet Daniel vi. 10, where it is said, “ When 
Daniel knew that the writing was signed” (by King Darius ,) “ he went into 
ec his house, and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem,” 
(i.e. to the west) 66 he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed 
“ and gave thanks unto God as he did aforetime.” 

Had he turned to the east he would not have appeared to violate the 
customary usage in that respect. David, before the dedication of the Temple, 
says in the cxxi. Psalm, “ I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills” which 
Augustin interprets Heaven ; and again, in Psalm cxxiii. 1, “ Unto thee lift 
stf I up mine eyes O thou that dwellest in the Heavens.” 

» l 

Hebrews, xii. 2 —“ Looking unto Jesus.” 


Newcastle-upon-Tyne : Printed at the Journal Office, Grey Street, by John Hernaman. 







ERRATA 


Page 4, line 2, read the instead of their elucidation. 

„ 4, Inscription expanded—in 2nd line read Exploratorum, instead of Exploratum . 

„ 6, Editor’s remark refers to the Genius of the Emperor in Mr. B.’s translation and the 

note at the bottom of the page refers to the last line of it. 

„ 8, line 12, for AV(7. read A YG. 

„ 8, „ 13, for Cassi^r read Cassio. 

„ 10, „ 15, for Signorem read Signorzm. 

„ 14, lines 7 and 8, dele P reversed and joined to R. 

„ 15, line 22, read and not instead of are not . 

„ 16, last line, read £7rbicus not Arbicus. 

„ 18, line 2, for Prsetorum read Praetonum. 

„ 18, „ 6, read Corstopitum instead of Costopilum. 

„ 18, „ 29, a note of interrogation should stand after purpose. 

„ 19, 3rd line of expanded inscription, for LICINIVS TRI[BVNVS] read LICINIYS 
VALERIANVS TRIB[YNYS]. 

„ 25, line 27, read for Altar to God, Altar dedicated to God. 

„ 25, „ 30, for Mar’s read Mars’. 














































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